Apparatus for holding and sewing fabrics



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

B. M. HUNTER. APPARATUS FOR HOLDING .AND SEWING FABRICS. No. 488,969;

Patented De0. Z7, 1892.

2 Sheets-Shet 2.

(N o Model.)

R. M. HUNTER; APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND SEWING FABRICS. No. 488,969

Patented Dec. 27, 1892.

FIG. 6

UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUDOLPH M. HUNTER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND SEWING FABRICS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 488,969, dated December27, 1892.

Application filed April 18, 1891. Serial No. 389,423. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH M. HUNTER, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement inMachines for Holding and Sew in'g Fabrics, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention has reference to machines for holding and sewing fabricsand consists 'of cer tain improvements which are fully set forth in thefollowing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings whichform a part thereof.

This application, Case No. 195, relates to certain improvements in thatclass of machines designed for sewing long lengths of fabric, such ascarpets, sails, awnings 85c, and com prehends a long support upon whichthe fabric is placed, means to stretch the fabric, a railway, a carriageor support moving over the railway parallel to the support, and a sewingmachineadjustably secured upon the carriage substantially on a levelwith the surface of the support. In addition to these features theinvention comprehends certain specific constructions whereby the angleof the feed is so arranged with respect to the support that the actionof the feed causes the fabric to be moved firmly toward the sewingmachine in a positive mannerso as to insuretheline of stitches beingplaced upon the fabric in a definite relation with respect to the edge;and furthermore, specific means to supply electricity from a stationarysource to an electric motor upon the carriage designed to operate thesewing machine.

Referring to the drawings:-Figure 1 is a cross section of my improvedmachine for holding the sewing fabric, taken on line a; a:

of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of same; Fig. 3 is a diagramillustrating the electric circuits; Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view ofthe current collecting device; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a portion of thefabric support and the sewing machine indicating the angle of the feedof the sewing machine with respect to the edge of the fabric support,and Fig. (3 is an enlarged side elevation of the carriage and itsconnection with the sewing machine.

A is the table or support for the fabric, and consists of a frame work Bupon which is arranged a series of transverse slats B leavgle iron 0which preferably extends slightly back upon the slats B.

D is a rail secured to the lower part of the table by means of bracketsd so that it is arranged adjacent to the floor. This rail is arrangedclose to the table so as to be out of the way of persons moving in frontof it.

E is a carriage which is supported upon the rail D by means of the lightgrooved wheels F, which are made similar to bicycle wheels without therubber tires. Arranged upon the table, and near its upper part, is arail H having an exposed lateral face. This rail is secured to the tableby means of brackets h.

I is an arm carrying on its end a roller Gr having a vertical axis andpresses against the inner face of the rail H. The arm I is adjustablysecured at i to the carriage By adjusting the arm I upon the carriage,the latter may be supported nearer to or farther from the table.

J is a frame carried in suitable guideways upon the upper part of thecarriage and is adjustable laterally to or from the table by means of alever device M. The particular means for adjusting this framelaterallyis unimportant. Secured to the frame J upon a vertical pivot Lis thesewing machine K. By this means the sewing machine may be adjusted on avertical axis so that its feed bar It will reciprocate or move at anangle to the edge of the fabric support as indicated by the dotted liney y in Fig. 5. The sewing machine and its supporting carriage are movedbodily along the railway by the action of its feed mechanism upon thefabric held upon the table. By this means the fabric is drawn toward thesewing machine and caused to snugly hug the guidest of the sewingmachine, and thereby insures the line of stitches being properly placedclose to the edge of the fabric. The sewing machine may be held inadjustment upon the frame Jby the clamping screw Z. Any suitable meansfor this adj ustment may be employed in place of that shown.

By means of the lateral frame J the sewing machine may be bodily movedupon the carriage for quick and large lateral adjustment, and the sewingmachine itself may be adjusted upon the vertical axis to suit therequirements of the case with respect to the a gle of the feed.

The fabric F is secured at each end in clamps R, and one of these clampsis secured to the wall or frame of the building'or an independent frameat S, and the other of said clamps is connected by a tension cord orchain with a Windlass S also secured to an independent frame or wall orframe of the building. By this means the fabric may be stretched withoutputting theleast strain upon the table, thus permitting the latter to beformed of a very light construction.

N is an electric motor for operating the sewing machine and is securedto the carriage E.

'n is a rheostat or regulator and is also secured to and moved with thecarriage.

The positive conductor for supplying electricity to the motor isarranged under the table and is indicated by the letter O. Thisconductor may be put undertension by means of a hand nut and screw 0(Fig. 2). Upon this wire or conductor 0 is supported a small trolley orcollector P which is movable along the said conductor and receivescurrent from it. This trolley or collector P is connected to the motorby means of flexible conductors p extending about guide wheels Q at eachend of the fabric support. The ends of the conductors are connected tothe carriage E by means of an insulated support U. By this means theelectrical communication is maintained with the conductor 0 for allpositions of the carriage F.

W is a stationary source of electric supply and is connectedrespectively with the conductor O and the rail D, which latter acts asthe return circuit. The direction of current is indicated by the arrowsin Fig. 3.

I do not limit myself to the more details of construction as these maybe modified in various Ways without departing from the principles of myinvention.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a machine for holding and sewing fabrics, the combination of asupport upon which the fabric is held, a railway arranged adjacent andparallel to said support, a S ng machine adapted to be moved alo g ajacent to the lateral edge of said support and being so constructed andarranged as to bring the line of feed to an angle with and across theedge of the fabric support in advance of the sewing machine so as totend to draw the fabric toward the sewing machine while it travelsadjacent to the edge of the fabric support, a carriage movable upon saidrailway and supporting the sewing machine, and a power device foroperating the sewing machine.

2. In a mechine for holding and sewing fabrics, the combination of asupport upon which the fabric is held, a railway arranged along saidsupport, a carriage movable on said railway, a sewing machine movablysecured tothe carriage, power devices to operate the sewing machine,-and means to adjust the sewing machine at various angles to the edge ofthe fabric support to make the line of feed of the sewing machine crossthe edge of the support in advance of the sewing machine so as to causethe feeding mechanism to tend to draw the fabric toward the sewingmachine while it travels along the edge of the fabric support to greateror less extent.

3. In a machine for holding and sewing fabrics, the combination of asupport upon which the fabric is held, a railway arranged along saidsupport, a carriage movable on said railway, a sewing machine pivotallysupported on the carriage, power devices for operating thesewing-machine, and means to secure the sewing machine in its adjustedpositions about the axis of the pivot whereby the direction of the lineof feed may be at an angle to and cross the edge of the fabricin advanceof the sewing machine.

4. In a machine for holding and sewing fabrics, the combination ofasupport upon which the fabric is held, a railway arranged along saidsupport, a carriage movable on said railway, a sewing machine pivotallysupported on the carriage by a laterally adjustable frame, power devicesfor operating the sewing machine, and means to secure the sewing machinein its adjusted positions on the laterally adjustable frame, whereby theline of direction of feed may be at an angle to and cross the edge ofthe fabric and its support in advance of the sewing machine and thesewing machine may be adjusted laterally to or from the fabric support.

5. In a machine for holding and sewing fabrics, the combination ofasupport upon which the fabric is held, a railway arranged along saidsupport, a carriage movable on said railway, a sewing machine secured tothe carriage and having its feed bar arranged so that the line of feedshall be at an angle to and cross the edge of the fabric support so asto tend to draw the fabric toward the sewing machine while it travelsalong the edge of the fabric support, an electric motor moving with thecarriage for operating the sewing machine, a stationary source ofelectric energy, and maintained electrical connections between thestationary source of electric energy and movable motor.

6. In a machine for holding and sewing fabrics, the combination of asupport upon which the fabric is held, a railway arranged along saidsupport, a carriage movable on said railway, a sewing machine secured tothe carriage and having its feed bar arranged so that the line of feedshall be at an angle to and cross the edge of the fabric support inadvance of the sewing machine so as to tend to draw the fabric towardthe sewing machine while travels along the edge of the fabric support,power devices to operate the sewing machine, and means to adjust thecarriage laterally to or from the support.

7. In a machine for holding and sewing fabrics, the combination of along support for the fabric, a railway arranged parallel to the support,a traveling carriage for the railway, a sewing machine and an electricmotor to run it mounted upon the carriage and movable with it, a fixedconductor arranged parallel with the support, a stationary source ofelectric energy, a contact device moving in contact with said conductor,guides at each end of the railway and support, and flexible conductorsleading from the contact device around the guides at the respective endsof the railway and connected mechanically with the carriage andelectrically connected with the motor, whereby the conductor may bemoved by the carriage and electric current may be supplied to the motorduring its travel.

8. In a machine for holding and sewing fabrics, the combination of along table for the fabric, a railway arranged parallel to the table, atraveling carriage for the railway, a sewing machine and an electricmotor to run it mounted upon the carriage and movable with it, afixedconductor arranged parallel with the table and close to its undersurface, a stationary source of electric energy, a contact device movingin contact with said conductor, guides at each end of the railway andtable, and flexible conductors leading from the contact device aroundthe guides at the respective ends of the railway and connectedmechanically with the carriage and electrically with the motor, wherebythe conductors may be moved by the carriage andelectric current may besupplied to the motor during its travel. I

9. In a machine for holding and sewing fabrics, the combination of along table for holding the fabric, a rail secured to the lower part ofthe table, a guide railhaving a lateral face secured near the upper partof the table, a carriage supported upon the lower rail by large wheelsand sustained against lateral movement by a wheel in contact with thelateral face of the guide rail, a sewing machine supported in a planecorresponding to the top of the table, power devices for operating thesewing machine and a laterally adjustable support secured to the sewingmachine and laterally adjustable on the carriage.

10. In a machine for holding and sewing fabrics, the combination of asupport upon which the fabric is held, a railway arranged along saidsupport, a carriage movable on said railway,a sewing machine secured tothe carriage and having its feed bar arranged so that the line of feedshall be at an angle to and cross the edge of the fabric support so asto tend to draw the fabric toward the sewing machine while it travelsalong the edge of the fabric support, power devices to operate thesewing machine and guides upon the sewing machine for receiving the edgeof the fabric to guide it between the feed bar and prcsser foot to limitits movement away from the edge of the fabric support.

In testimony of which invention I have hereunto set my hand.

R. M. HUNTER. Witnesses:

S. T. YERKES, ERNEST HOWARD HUNTER.

